Tennessee Titans DT Jurrell Casey named top-5 in the NFL

Typically speaking, sports fans tend to worry about two things – the past and the future. They’ll debate who was the greatest player of all-time, while also spending hours discussing whether or not a rookie is going to be develop into an All-Pro.

Both are fun exercises, things that keep fans engaged and the beer flowing at the local tavern. But they miss out on what is most important – the present.

Forget about yesterday. Never mind tomorrow. Let’s talk about today.

Who are the best players in the NFL right now? Who can help a team win the Super Bowl this season? Who is writing a legacy with each passing week?

Those are the questions the editors at cover32 seek to answer in this series, “Top 10 in 2014.” In the coming weeks, every position – as well as head coach, general manager and other off-field areas – will be graded, evaluated and ranked.

The series continues with a position that is unbelievably difficult to fill with a consistent player – defensive tackle. They’re vital to stopping the run, occupying blockers so the linebackers behind them can make plays. And they are important against the pass, providing pressure up the middle that collapses the pocket and makes quarterbacks uncomfortable.

But these 300-pound behemoths are hard to find; a combination of size and athleticism that doesn’t exist a lot. And they are even harder to keep around, as injuries or an inability to put down the fork tend to shorten the careers of even the best DTs.